30: Homecoming

Every day after school the next week, we had basketball tryouts. There must have been fifty of us because Coach Hancock and Coach Mitchell were picking both the varsity and JV teams. Every guy in the school seemed to be there to try out. They ran drills. They ran dribbling practice. They ran shooting skills. They ran layups. They ran rebounds. Mostly, they ran us. I don't think I'd ever run so much. Fortunately, I'd biked a lot. My legs and lungs were strong. Whitney told me I had to do fifty pushups every day after our first time playing basketball, so my arms were pretty strong, too. I hurt for a few days, but I guess throwing around bales of hay helped, too.

It wasn't all fun and games. Chad, our fearless quarterback, played round ball, too. He was determined to regain some of the glory he lost in football during the winter season. Fortunately, the football guys who wanted to play basketball still had the homecoming game coming up and could only work basketball for an hour before they had to dress for football practice. That wasn't the case with Josh, though. He didn't actually do anything to me, but whenever Whitney or I were on the court, he ignored us. It was like he was trying to make sure we didn't really get an opportunity to do anything. Of course, when Whitney and I both got on the court at the same time, we worked with each other and fed the ball to the tall guys under the hoop or took long shots ourselves. I was sure Whitney was going to make the team. Well, with that federal Title IX thing, she about had to, but I knew Coach Hancock liked what he was seeing. Whenever I could, I fed her the ball so she could make the shot, even when I might have had one myself.

"If you do that every time, the opposing team is going to figure it out," Coach said when he pulled me aside. "All a good defensive player has to do is step between you and Whitney and he gets the ball. You need to take your shots and play with the rest of the team." I nodded and went back to scrimmaging.

By Friday, it was pretty clear that Coach Mitchell had his Varsity team chosen and had sent everyone else over to Coach Hancock. We had some serious height on varsity. It was great to see Lionel and Lamar finally getting to work with each other on the court. Friday night was homecoming and we scarcely got finished in the locker room before the football teams came in to get ready for the game. I'd been really surprised when Renee asked me to be her date for the homecoming dance.

"I understand if you don't want to be seen with me," she said.

"Don't want to be seen with you? You've got to be kidding!" I said. "Renee, I would be so honored to be your date to homecoming. I'm sorry I can't drive and pick you up like a real date, but I'd be thrilled to be at the dance with you."

"If you can get to the game, I'll take you home after the dance. I just can't leave the school before the game."

"I have to be there for the flaming hoop anyway," I grinned. "I'll see you there."

"Okay. Junior High, you line up and hold the hoop. Do it just the way Brian says. He's done this before and knows how it works," Renee instructed the younger girls. "JV on that side and Varsity on this side. Get ready. They're about to announce the team." I sprayed the center of the paper with lighter fluid and made sure the younger girls were holding the handles safely.

"Hey, Lexie," I said. "Cool that you made the squad this year. Samantha is really proud of you."

"Thanks, Brian. I wish Judy had tried out, but she wasn't interested. She is so funny!" I just grinned at her and winked.

I'd done some experiments under Mr. J's supervision to add a kind of flash powder to the tempera paint the girls used to paint the Trojan head in the middle of the paper. I was just hoping it worked like all my experiments showed. The girls were puzzled when I added the powder to the paints they were using, but they trusted me. If it didn't work, I'd know pretty quickly and would probably be out a homecoming date. I heard the announcement begin and struck my match. The wind blew the first match out before I could get it to the lighter fluid. I jumped to the side to shelter the match and lit another one. It took. I barely got out of the way before the Trojan head exploded all at once and the paper rapidly burned toward the paraffin and twine hoop. Just as the twine lit, Chad ran through the hoop and between the rows of cheerleaders leading our team onto the field. He wasn't the starting quarterback anymore, but it was tradition that the seniors led the charge onto the field at homecoming. Everyone was whooping it up.

I got to sit next to the cheer bench with Ms. Hammer between me and the cheerleaders. Man! How that battleaxe got to be a cheerleading coach is beyond me!

There was no score in the first half or in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was looking like nobody would score the whole game. Both teams were really holding on defense. There were only two minutes to go when Rick launched a field goal from thirty yards out and scored. We won, three to nothing.

Homecoming was different than the other football dances. People dressed up. Renee was a candidate for homecoming queen so she had a formal gown on and I had to wear a suit. Some distant cousin of mine was getting married over Thanksgiving weekend and Mom said I had to have a new suit anyway. I chose this cool double-breasted pin-stripe and thought I looked like a gangster.

Renee was stunning. At five-seven, I was almost two inches taller than her. Of course, her heels made up the difference and then a little. She wore a green formal gown that had no straps. Her shoulders were bare down to exposing her cleavage. Renee wasn't stacked like Brenda, but she really had beautiful breasts from what I could see. Her blonde hair was curled around her cheeks. All the cheerleaders wore their hair short except Syl, and she always had hers tied up in a bun like a dancer. The net result was that Renee was showing about an acre of bare skin from her chin down to what had to be covered. I just stood there and stared when she came out of the stage dressing room where the cheerleaders had gone to change.

"Do you like it?"

"You are so beautiful, Renee. Every guy here is going to be envious of me."

"That's just because they figure you are going to get laid tonight. I'm sorry I have such a bad reputation, Brian."

"Renee, no more bad-mouthing my girlfriend. I don't put up with it from anybody else and I won't put up with it from you." I spoke so sternly that she stepped back a step.

"What did I say about... ?" What I meant slowly sunk in. The smile that lit her face brightened the room. "I'm your girlfriend! Oh my god!" She rushed to me and hugged me. "I'll try to be the best girlfriend, Brian. I won't let you down."

"Shh. Renee, it's you that you need to not let down. I'm about as proud as I can be. I have a flower for you." I had Brenda to thank for that. She even went to the florist with me to choose the right shade of pink roses. But as I looked at Renee I couldn't figure out where I was going to pin it or how. "Uh ... I've never done this before, Renee and I'm not sure I know how to, uh..."

"Brian, you wonderful boy. I give you explicit permission to touch me any way you need to in order to pin that beautiful flower over my heart. Right here." Well, basic anatomy told me the heart wasn't really right at the top of her left breast, but that's where I went about pinning the flower. My left hand slid along her breast to lift the fabric enough that I could pin the flower without puncturing her. I remembered the trick Rose played on me with the exploding boob. I also made a discovery.

"I didn't think you had a bra on under that," I said with relief. "Obviously I haven't had that much experience with them, but I didn't know they made them without straps."

"It's called a shelf bra. It doesn't really cover much. It just kind of pushes them up and out." I finished pinning and stepped back. Renee stepped with me. "I'll show you later tonight, if you want," she whispered.

"Uh ... Renee. There's one problem." She looked worried. "Being out with such a sexy girl, I'm going to have to stay seated all evening to keep from being embarrassed." She glanced down. I wasn't in full tent mode, but things were swelling. She smiled.

"Boyfriend, let's go make our grand entrance. I'll try not to embarrass you."

Renee's grand entrance was far more than just walking into the gym. We had to stop at just about every table to greet people and talk. Frankly, I think Renee was showing off a little, but I had to admit that we made it around to all the underclass and freshmen tables, too. Many of our girlfriends and boyfriends were present. Rhonda had skipped the evening because she had to get up at four to deliver papers. Whitney complained that she looked terrible in a dress and didn't have anything appropriate to wear. Of course, Cassie wasn't going to be at a dance until she left home. Brenda was having a nice time getting to know Geoff better and Lionel and Sugar were practically glued to each other. Rose was teasing Carl and Samantha was driving Doug crazy. It looked like they had all paired up for the evening, but Rachel and Candace were at the table, too.

It was at the cheerleader table that things started to get interesting.

"Ooh, our favorite freshman plaything," Syl said. "Come here and let me give you some explicit permissions." She winked at me.

"Back off, hussy," Renee said. "That's my boyfriend you're trying to play with."

"Your boyfriend?" Shelly asked. I was glad to see Bill was with her again.

"I signed the agreement," Renee said proudly.

"You're kidding," Sharon laughed. "Renee, that's kid stuff. You're a senior. You've been doing more than the agreement allows since junior high."

"I can't erase any of my past," Renee said. "But I don't have to make the same mistakes in the future."

"Speaking of which, here he comes," Shelly warned.

"Hey kid. You still trying to get in my girl's panties?" Chad asked as he approached. I ignored him and turned to the tall blonde beside him. I recognized her as a sophomore who was in my English Comp class, but I didn't know her name.

"Hi, I'm Brian. We have Comp together but I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"That's right. I'm Elise. Glad to meet you, Brian." We shook hands."

"Elise, no matter what your boyfriend says, I'm not trying to get in your panties. Okay?"

"Him? He's not my boyfriend. He just asked me to dance and then dragged me over here."

"Oh. I guess there was a misunderstanding. I'm just taking my girlfriend over to the kids' table where we can have some fun," I said, glaring at Sharon. "I hear they brought Candyland tonight. Renee? Would you like to dance for a while?" Renee smiled at me and led me by the hand to the dance floor. Behind us I heard Chad shout, "She what?" I glanced over and saw Elise had left and gone to a table with several other sophs. The music changed and Renee moved into me for a slow number. I was a little thrown about what to do with my hands.

"Renee? May I touch your bare shoulders while we dance?"

"I would love for you to touch my bare shoulders and back, Brian. Sorry, I'm not sure about the right words to use."

"I think those will do." I wrapped her in my arms and we moved together. I wasn't that great a dancer, but the past few dances I'd been to, my girlfriends had all taken part in teaching us guys how to dance.

At ten o'clock, the principal took over the microphone to announce the coronation of the homecoming king and queen. Renee was nervous and clutched my hand tightly. I figured this was her senior year and only chance to be homecoming queen. The principal went on about how much money the candidates had raised for the children's hospital. The idea was that there were collection canisters at school and at the three most popular hangouts for teens. Each canister had the picture of one of the candidates on it. The candidates who raised the most money became the king and queen. I'd made sure to put a dollar in one of Renee's.

"We'd like the candidates to come forward." I escorted Renee to the stairs and she took my hand as she held her skirt and stepped up beside the other three girls. The four boys were on the other side of the stage. Chad was practically salivating when he looked at Renee. I was glad Lamar was a candidate, too. I didn't know the other guys. The principal finally got around to calling the names.

"Third runner up for Homecoming King is Lamar Trane." Lamar moved to the middle of the stage. "And for your partner in the homecoming dance, Renee Carver." Oh, shit! She got last place? Damn! Renee graciously took Lamar's offered hand and he led her to the left side of the stage. I glanced at Chad and he looked like he was going to have a fit. I don't know what the problem was. Chad won the homecoming king title. The brunette who won Homecoming Queen, Anne White, was one of those enthusiasts that you couldn't figure out why she wasn't a cheerleader. I'd read her bio and she was the prom chairperson last year, was president of the Future Teachers of America chapter, had won two awards for citizenship, and organized the charity drive all the money went to. And she was pretty with one of those 'I conquer all' smiles of perfect white teeth. After they were crowned, Chad led her to the dance floor with their "court" for the homecoming dance.

As soon as the dance was over, I saw Chad turn away from his partner and head toward Renee. Lamar saw him, too, and led her directly to where I was standing and watching. She thanked him and turned to me just as Chad got to us.